The Supreme Court of Montana on Dec. 11 upheld a lower court’s decision to temporarily block a state ban on so-called “gender-affirming care” for minors, allowing children to continue accessing such medical procedures.
The lawsuit, filed in May by multiple plaintiffs, sought to prevent the bill from being implemented, citing constitutional violation. The District Court of the Fourth Judicial District sided with the plaintiffs, granting a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocked SB 99’s implementation.
The State of Montana then filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of the State of Montana. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, affirming the district court’s preliminary injunction.
“Plaintiffs’ alleged injury—loss of the constitutional privacy right—is irreparable with a monetary remedy, which makes their claim appropriate for a preliminary injunction,” the court said in an opinion authored by Justice Beth Baker and concurred by five additional justices.
Plaintiffs provided “evidence that the most lasting and permanent forms of gender-affirming care are rarely performed on minors” and that without the law being blocked, “minor patients would suffer severe psychological distress,” according to the court opinion. Combined with evidence that SB 99 “infringed on their fundamental right to privacy, Plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm.”
The case now heads to trial at the district court.
SB 99 bans certain transgender surgeries and medical procedures, including puberty blockers, on children who suffer from gender dysphoria. The bill also prohibits public funds from being used for these procedures on minors. Health care personnel who offer such services would face suspension for at least a year.
When the bill was signed, Kaitlin Price, press secretary of Gianforte, said in a statement that the governor was “committed to protecting Montana children from invasive medical treatments that can permanently alter their healthy, developing bodies.”
Republican state Sen. John Fuller, who introduced the bill, said the governor was “supporting the health and safety of Montana’s children.”
One of the plaintiffs in the case is Phoebe Cross, a transgender minor receiving procedures banned by SB 99. In a declaration, Phoebe said that prohibiting the procedures would be a “fearful” prospect, according to the court opinion. The individual’s parents are also part of the case.
State Policies
Montana has taken a number of actions in recent years in response to transgender-related issues. In May last year, Gianforte signed a bill defining the terms “male” and “female” based on reproductive biology.It defined females as having characteristics like XX chromosomes, producing “relatively large, relatively immobile gametes, or eggs, during her life cycle.” Males were defined as people with XY chromosomes who produce sperm during their lifetime.
“Gender is obviously something different than biological sex. Biological sex is immutable, you can’t change it. There are only two biological sexes,” said Republican state Sen. Carl Glimm, the primary sponsor of the bill.
“You may claim to be able to change your gender or express your gender in different ways [but] you can never change your biological status, and this is why Senate Bill 458 is necessary.”
At the time, Gianforte’s spokesperson said the governor signed the bill as he believed it was “wildly inappropriate” for children to be exposed to sexual content.
The law sought to make one of the two restrooms in the legislature exclusively for males and the other for females. If the measure had passed, it would prevent Democratic state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who identifies as transgender, from using the female restroom in the legislature.
